Godwin Class Annual - 1949

Following WWII, America had pretty much returned to normal by 1949.
The recession that followed the war, as US plants converted from
war time to peace time production. The Cold War was on, and on
June 24, 1948, the Berlin airlift began. Had the USSR shot down one
of the US planes involved the Cold war might have become hot, but
fortunately this is not happen. So the class of 1949 had pretty clear
sailing in terms of world conflicts, and could concentrate on planning
for the future. The economy was good enough by 1949 that the people
coming home from the war could also finally get jobs. Prior to this,
the thanks many servicemen got for risking their lives was to find
that all the domestic jobs were taken, and the folks back home
didn't want to hear a lot about a war that was mostly an inconvenience
for them.

The baby boom was in full swing, and farmland was being carved up
everywhere for more housing. Buchanan woods, west of Buchanan Street,
and bounded by 32nd and 34th streets, and the Grand Rapids and Indiana
railroad tracks, was plow down to create a housing complex which
included the west side of Buchanan Street. Birchwood and Hillcroft
were extended north from 34th street to 32nd street. A few farms
would continue to exist within walking distance of Godwin, but for the
most part the area was thoroughly urbanized by 1949, and populated by
a lot of people from Godwin, who worked in the very industries, stores,
and shops that supplied the growth of the area.

In a political sense the 1950s were dominated by the rivalry between
the US and the USSR, but like most US wars after the Civil War, things
were not adversely affected on the home front, and for most people
the Cold War mainly created more demand for military goods. A door to
the 1950s, life in America would be something of a joy ride for the
next ten years or more.

The cover of the 1949 class annual.
Left click on the image for a larger image.

The entire 1949 class annual, made available for scanning by
by Edna (Carpenter) and Forrest Keyes, Godwin class of 1934 and 1932
repectively, is presented below.
To view the pages, simply left click on the page numbers.
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